NCL supports Bessemer, AL Amazon workers’ right to organize

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League has issued the following statement:

Since our founding in 1899, the National Consumers League (NCL) has supported the right of workers to organize and form unions. In our fight for labor and consumer protections, our work has continued to champion these fundamental rights.

In keeping with that mission, NCL is aware of the efforts of workers at the Amazon plant in Bessemer, AL to form a union and supports the workers’ right to do so. The employees are seeking a stronger voice in controlling the pace of work, productivity expectations, and other matters such as breaks and concerns about physical demands.

We have partnered with Amazon on issues of great import to consumers, including fighting fraud and supporting financial literacy for teens and appreciate the company’s dedication to those concerns and its pledge to support a $15 an hour minimum wage nationally, not only for its workforce but for every hourly worker. President Biden has called the Bessemer, AL election a “vitally important choice” for workers. We agree and hope that Amazon honors that choice.